Comment: A call for greater Engineering Council registration10 June 2024
Everyone, particularly employers and governments, would benefit from proactively ensuring that all engineers in positions of engineering responsibility are Engineering Council (EC) registered. But does society in general know and understand this?
Research suggests that less than 3% of the over 8.1 million working in the UK’s engineering economy have EC registration. This figure suggests that most of society, including many engineers, do not see a need for themselves to be EC registered. Reasons for this are probably based around a general lack of awareness and understanding of the benefits of EC registration, as well as the mistaken belief that being certified as competent to perform limited specific engineering tasks is all that is needed.
For today’s society, having safe, reliable and relatively low-cost security, food, water, shelter and energy – together with the ability to meet our many other needs and wishes – is due to a number of factors. A key one being advances in engineering practice. If we are to continue growing engineering’s ability to better meet our needs and wishes, engineering practice needs to continue advancing in the provision of ever more efficient solutions.
EC registration provides a set of standards against which an individual’s engineering competence and the many certificates of competency to perform engineering tasks can be referenced. However, securing ever more efficient and sustainable engineering solutions needs more than just competent engineers. It also needs committed engineers. EC registration means the individual has demonstrated they have attained both a defined level of professional competence and professional commitment.
Professional competence means having the right levels of training, academic knowledge and experience. Professional commitment means demonstrating having appropriate aptitude and commitment. Professional commitment is through a Professional Engineering Institution (PEI) licensed by the EC, such as the Society of Operations Engineers. PEI membership means committing to comply with a Code of Professional Conduct and thus the four principles of the Statement of Ethical Principles for the engineering profession. The four principles being: honesty and integrity; respect for life, law, the environment and public good; good leadership and communications and accuracy and rigour. These provide a firm foundation for taking engineering practice and innovation forward for the benefit of all.
To better realise these benefits we all need to, as individuals and collectively through our PEIs, promulgate the message that everyone – particularly employers and governments – would gain from proactively.
Ian Jackson, chair, IPlantE
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